Follow Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-O Review: Taking Out the Trash

Allow me to start with the elephant in the room. This episode is the first of two episodes that will be affected by Alex O’Loughlin’s absence. That said, I have to give a nod to the writers and production staff for doing such a great job of adjusting this episode to deal with the missing McGarrett. I'm sure I speak for a lot of use when I say that I hope O'Loughlin's time off has helped him and I look forward to his return.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the amount of information we got on Max this week! What a revealing episode for him. When Masi Oka first joined the cast as Max Bergman back in Season One, I really didn't like the character at all. He was too quirky, the OCD and eccentricities really turned me off the character.

What a long way we've come since then. Max has softened and they toned down his bazaar nature into more a “geeky” nature (his license plate is Warp 9 after all).

And after nearly two seasons on the show, we finally learned the answer to the question I asked when he started - why he is Asian but have the last name "Bergman." The answer was simple: he was adopted.

But then again, the answer wasn’t really simple was it? Not when his mother was a victim of the “Trash Man”. Max has been obsessed with the case ever since.

I really enjoyed the quid pro quo of Max asking Five-O to open the case as payment for the case he reopened for them. It showed depth and character that I would not have expected in 2010.

Speaking of quid pro quo – Kamekona’s missing shrimp truck seemed a bit tacked on. While it did offer some mild comedic relief, Danny’s initial rudeness to Kamekona had my wife commenting on what an ass he is.

How many times has Kamekona stepped up for Five-O? Danny should have at least picked up the phone and gotten some officers dedicated to the case for the man!

Thankfully Danny eased up a bit on the jackass-ery and recruited Chin Ho and Kono to help him find Kamekona’s truck, making everything right with him and team again. Except for Max, who went to pick Richard Branch (the man accused of being the serial killer) from jail.

I understood Max’s need to help Richard when he knew he was not the killer. Just as I’m sure that killing the real killer went a long way to making it feel like there was justice (or revenge) for his biological mother's death.

Losing a parent is hard, I can't imagine it would be easier on Max just because he didn't know his biological mother, just less direct emotions. I hope that helping Richard gave Max some closure on his mother's death.

Ironically, for having started as a character I disliked, Max truly redeemed himself this week. He is even featured in a few of the most memorable Hawaii Five-O quotes from the episode!

What did you think of Danny’s first turn as lead dog? Did you miss McGarrett the character or Alex the actor? Can you make it through one more episode without him? Comment below!

@HFO....I saw that also, I love it when Kono gets to be the sharpshooter. At least we know she will be in the Hawaii part. I'm really hoping we see a storyline for her, especially with Adam, even though I think he's bad, we get to see more of Kono in action. I love NCIS LA also. I think Danny and Chin with Sam and Callen should get us some good quotes. I'll miss Alex, but glad that Chin will get his shot at more screen time.

@Keely - you are right. Most of season 2 has been disappointing. Bad choices, poor scripts, sometimes bad acting etc. I hope they've learnt their lesson and are smart enough not to make the same mistakes again.

kelly•April 18, 2012 05:16

I can't wait for episodes 2.22 and 2.23. I'm sooo excited that Alex is back as episodes without Steve don't interest me. I hope WoFat stays around for a long time as his interaction with Steve is one of the best things about the show. Overall Season 2 has been disappointing but it seems the season will end on a bang.

HFO•April 18, 2012 04:27

@Zia I'm sure Wo Fat's gonna find a way out, i mean cmon it's Wo Fat LOL. I love Mark Dacascos and i would love for him to become the villian for many seasons to come. I hope the show goes on for that long though, it would see so much character development

HFO•April 18, 2012 04:24

I don't think we got an exact age for any of them except for McG. I could definitely also see the maturity in Kono even if she isn't old i think we can agree on that.Moving on, 3 episodes in a row bring it on!! I'm a big fan of NCIS LA so really excited for that. Sam Hanna and Danno interactions are bound to attract some laughs. If you see in the extended promo, SHARPSHOOTER KONO'S BACK oh yea!

@Amazingalex....yeah, that's our super seal. Steve will drag him back, while protecting him from the Yakuza, he wants him alive to get some answers about his parents murders. I'm so happy he's back, just can't wait to see all the remaining episodes, especially the last 2. @HFO......yes, I saw the one with Wofat's foot on his chest, but I read that McG actually throws Wofat in jail, so I'm assuming McG handles him at that point. Unless what I read was wrong. Wofat will get out of jail at some point because this is a story line the producer said he wants to keep going for as long as the original show had the character, which was for all 12 yrs.That's why its good for them to let it go for a while and then come back to it. The actor who plays Wofat is great, and there is just too much of a back story to end it too soon.

Kyra•April 18, 2012 03:41

@Jschoi and Martinelli, you make some good points. I've always interpreted that Kono did not compete in surfing as an adult, that she was injured young, and that's why she joined the force. You could be right that she is older. Each of us interprets things there own way. I still don't think Kono is as old as you think, but I am willing to say I could be wrong. The only one that we know for sure is Steve, they never mentioned Danny, although we assume he is the same age, Chin is older, but it was never said by how much, and we never really got an age on Kono. We can all assume what we want it to be until they actually tell us.

HFO•April 18, 2012 03:36

I see a picture of Wo Fat having his foot on McG's chest, looks like he's got the stranglehold in that pic.Also i think its possible that McG cuff them together himself so Wo Fat won't slip away again

Danny: Sit down, don't stand up again.Cal: Look I was working last night, you can check with my manager.Danny: Ok, I'm going to check with your manager and if I find out you're lying to me, I'm going to come back here and put you in a mayonnaise jar.